Shootkick Man
11-11-2014, 11:35 PM
Taped 10/25 in Lakeland, Fla.
The ROH "Creating Excellence" signature aired for the first time in a few weeks. The 10-second package culminated with a video of Jay Briscoe victoriously raising the ROH World Title belt.
A video package aired. It included backstage comments from The Kingdom. “We’re not just a family, we’re a kingdom,” said Bennett. He said that any good kingdom rebuilds, to which Adam Cole proclaimed, “thy kingdom come, thy will be done!” The package went on to show highlights of Matt Taven joining the Kingdom a few weeks ago on ROH TV. To close the promo, Maria lifted up a finger for each member of the Kingdom, and proclaimed that armageddon could now begin.
The ROH TV opening aired.
The Lakeland, Fla. crowd was pretty hot, as the camera panned the jam-packed arena. Tonight, it’s the Kingdom vs. Briscoes, plus the return of Michael Elgin!
Clips were shown of Cedric Alexander being attacked by Tommaso Ciampa prior to his entrance at the Honor Rumble last month on ROH TV.
1 -- CEDRIC ALEXANDER vs. TOMMASO CIAMPA
Ciampa approached the ring and stood on the announcer table above Nigel McGuinnes in an effort to intimidate him. Ciampa then walked around to the other side of the ring, but was hit with a dropkick before he could even enter! The bell rang, and Cedric immediately followed up with a flip dive to the outside! Alexander rolled him into the ring and delivered a huge top-rope frog splash, but Ciampa kicked out of the pin attempt. “Let’s go Ciampa” chants rang out from the crowd for some reason. Cedric tried to follow up, but CIampa rolled to the outside.
Alexander followed him out, however, and pummeled him around ringside. Ciampa finally got some offense at the 2:00 mark when he threw Cedric into the hockey boards on the outside. Ciampa shoved a ring crew member out of the way and then delivered a running knee strike to Alexander. They re-entered the ring and Cedric fought back with hit a springboard clothesline, followed up with a running dropkick in the corner. He went for another one, but Ciampa was barely able to duck out of the way, which sent Cedric crashing to the floor. The show went to it’s first commercial at the 3:45 mark.
[Commercial Break]
Back at 6:15, Ciampa was stomping Alexander on the mat. Ciampa made a psychotic face, which caused the crowd to boo him a bit. Ciampa followed up with a series of running knee strikes to Cedric while he was down in the corner. Ciampa went for a cover, but Cedric kicked out at two. Alexander tried to fight back with some fists, but Ciampa countered with some elbows to Cedric’s shoulder. Cedric began to mount a comeback, but was slowed down when Ciampa yanked his legs off the second rope. Tommaso hit some more running knee strikes, as some fans actually started chanting, “one more time!” He went for another, but Cedric countered, which sent both men down to the mat.
Cedric hit a couple of suplexes and then a Michinoku Driver, but could only get a two count. Both men exchanged blows in the center. Ciampa went for a roaring elbow, but Cedric ducked. Tommaso came right back and clobbered Cedric with his Knockout Knee. Somehow, Cedric kicked out! Cedric miraculously reversed with Kick to Kill: Part 2, but somehow Ciampa kicked out!
Cedric hit a spin kick, but Ciampa came right back with a stiff lariat and another nearfall. Ciampa began to argue with the referee. Cedric went for his running dropkick in the corner, but hit referee Todd Sinclair by accident! While the ref was down, Ciampa grabbed a piece of rope and choked Cedric with it. He continued to choke Cedric with the rope, but put his arm over it so it appeared like a generic chin lock. Sinclair came to, saw that Cedric had passed out, and called for the bell.
ROH Matchmaker Nigel McGuinness got up from the commentary desk to tell Sinclair about the illegal choke. Sinclair confronted Ciampa, who was still hiding the rope under his arm. Eventually, the rope fell out from under Ciampa’s arm and Sinclair reversed the decision!
WINNER: Cedric Alexander via disqualification in 13:15.
After the decision was announced, an incensed Tommaso Ciampa began slapping himself in the face and then left the ring. He ran right back in and nailed Cedric from behind with a chair. Ciampa set up the chair and then delivered a brain buster to Alexander on top of it! Ciampa then sat down in the chair and taunted McGuinness. Ciampa grabbed Kevin Kelly’s headset and yelled, “Nigel screwed Nigel!”
ANALYSIS: Solid match between these two. Cedric came out of the gate with the right amount of intensity, considering he was attacked by Ciampa recently. The crowd didn’t know what to make of Ciampa at first, but he did a great job of turning the crowd against him by the end. It was kept pretty simple, but told a good story nonetheless. (***)
Jay Lethal and Truth Martini cut a backstage promo. They joked about A.C.H. missing his flight at All-Star Extravaganza, and then hyped that Lethal would be defending the ROH TV Title against A.C.H. next week on ROH TV.
[Commercial Break]
The Briscoes then cut a backstage promo where they hyped their match against the Kingdom later in the show. Typical Briscoes promo.
2 — WORST-CASE SCENARIO (Elijah Evans & Ethan Case) vs. R.D. EVANS & MOOSE (w/ Ramon)
Prince Nana joined the commentary team for this one. He said that he loves Moose, despite his problems with R.D. Evans. Kevin Kelly pointed out Veda Scott’s absence from ringside. Nigel was particularly upset about it. The streak was at 166-0 at this point. The Code of Honor was adhered to and then the bell rang.
Moose and Elijah started the match. Elijah tried to take Moose down a few times to no avail. Moose eventually countered with a huge dropkick! Case tagged in, but was quickly slammed to the mat by Moose. R.D. tagged in and looked to be going for a suplex, but rolled up Case for two instead. Elijah got a shot in from the apron, which allowed Case to take control. Elijah tagged in and they double-teamed R.D. for a little while. Elijah hit a standing senton for a two count. Case tagged back in, but somehow R.D. was able to reverse into a double-inverted DDT, and tagged in Moose!
Moose came in and splashed both of his opponents. He whipped Case into Elijah and then splashed both men. He hit a big flying cross-body on his opponents, which drew a loud pop from the crowd. R.D. begged for the tag and got it. He came in and tried to hit a flying cross-body of his own, but Worst-Case Scenario reversed. Moose came in, but a miscommunication caused him to charge directly into his partner. Elijah and Case hit a nice double-team maneuver on R.D. and went for the cover, but Moose broke it up at the last second.
Case and Moose squared off in the center. Moose dropped Case over his knee and then hit a big spear. He tagged in R.D., and then they hit their finisher where R.D. stands on Moose’s shoulders and then splashes his opponent. R.D. pinned Case for the victory.
WINNERS: R.D. Evans & Moose via pinfall in 5:10.
R.D. celebrated after the match, as Kevin Kelly hyped his upcoming TV title shot against Jay Lethal. Interestingly enough, Kelly mentioned that this match would take place next week. He was correct in the fact that Glory By Honor takes place next weekend (November 15) in San Antonio, Texas. This was a bit confusing, though, as Lethal-A.C.H. was hyped as next week’s TV main event earlier in the show. Really odd that ROH would choose this match as a way to connect the TV product to the live event side of the business.
ANALYSIS: Another good showing from Moose. This wasn’t just a squash, as Worst-Case Scenario got in a bit of offense. Moose and Evans continue their “heel steals babyface partner’s glory” storyline, but it look like there might be some progression when Evans challenges Jay Lethal for the TV Title at Glory By Honor. (*1/2)
[Commercial Break]
Michael Elgin Returns
Back from break, Kevin Kelly stood in the ring and introduced Michael Elgin. The former ROH champ, dressed in a sport coat, jeans, and a t-shirt, slowly walked to the ring. Kelly began setting the stage, but Elgin grabbed the microphone and offered Kelly his water bottle for some reason. Kelly handed it back to him, which made Elgin look particularly awkward. Elgin said that he wanted to have a fresh start in ROH. He pointed out that he was dressed nicely because he wanted to project ROH’s supposed corporate image. He said he was starting to feel uncomfortable, and then proceeded to take off his sport coat and throw it on top of Kelly. Kevin stormed out of the ring.
Elgin said he was told to come out and apologize to Ring of Honor and its fans. He proceeded to apologize for not being who he really was in the past. He talked about how he was forced to be in Lakeland that night. He essentially told ROH to be careful what they wished for because, “when you play in the rain, you have to deal with the mud.” Aside from a few scattered “what?” chants, the crowd seemed rather disinterested.
[M.M. Reax: I can only imagine what the casual ROH viewer must be thinking at this point. Here is your former lead babyface, who just spent the last two years chasing the world title. And now, after unceremoniously dropping the belt and then falling off the face of the earth with barely a mention on TV, here he is as a full-blown heel. Sure, we’ve seen wrestlers return only to instantly turn heel in the past, but why was Elgin forced to “apologize” tonight, based on what has been presented on TV? ROH really needs to reel itself in when it comes to Twitter. This would be the equivalent of Daniel Bryan turning heel on the WWE app, and then eventually returning to TV in full heel mode without so much as a video package to put things in perspective.]
[Commercial Break]
3 — THE KINGDOM (Michael Bennett & Matt Taven w/ Maria Kanellis) vs. THE BRISCOES
The Kingdom came out to a mashed-up combination of Bennett’s and Cole’s theme songs. The Briscoes briskly walked to the ring and immediately began brawling with the Kingdom around ringside. Kelly talked about how the match couldn’t start until two men were in the ring, despite the fact that Cedric-Ciampa started on the outside earlier in the same show. Bennett and Mark eventually made it to the ring and the bell rang, while Jay continued to pummel Taven on the outside. Bennett and Mark were quickly back on the outside, and all four men brawled on the outside for the first minute of the match, until the Kingdom took control.
Back in the ring, Bennett nailed Mark with a dropkick. Jay and Taven continued to brawl on the outside. Mark threw Bennett to the outside, which allowed both Briscoes to double-team him for a moment. Jay and Taven ended up back in the ring, while Mark attempted to suplex Bennett through a table at ringside. Bennett fought out of it, while Jay knocked Taven out of the ring. Bennett came in and superkicked Jay and then delivered the Box Office Smash. Jay wisely rolled out of the ring. Mark went for his Cactus Jack elbow from the apron, but Bennett came out of nowhere and speared Mark, as the show went to a commercial at the 3:45 point in the match.
[Commercial Break]
Back at 5:45, things had settled down with Bennett in control of Mark on the mat. Bennett tagged in Taven, who then choked Mark on the top rope. Taven hit Mark with a spin kick and then tagged his partner. Bennett slammed Mark and then channelled Matt Hardy with a second-rope leg drop! Taven tagged back in, as Kevin Kelly announced that reDRagon would face the TimeSplitters at the Final Battle PPV in December.
The Kingdom continued to dominate, until Mark revered a Twist of Fate attempt. Mark rolled over and made the hot tag his brother! Jay came in and dominated both members of the Kingdom. He nailed Bennett with some headbutts and then hit a huge Falcon Arrow. Taven ran in, but was double-teamed by the Briscoes. Jay scored a nearfall on Taven and then tagged Mark. Mark hit a mule kick off the second rope and then followed up with some Red Neck Kung Fu. He went for Froggy Bow, but Michael Bennett shoved him off the top rope. Jay began to brawl with Bennett on the outside, but this opened him up to a dive from Taven.
Back in the ring, the Kingdom double-teamed Mark, but were unable to put him away. Bennett and Taven went for a Doomsday Device, but Mark was able to escape at the last minute! Jay ran in and hit the Jay Driller on Taven, and then Mark covered him for the victory!
WINNERS: The Briscoes via pinfall in 11:55.
ANALYSIS: This told a good story with the typical Briscoes brawl, followed up with the more traditional tag formula. Taven makes a great partner for Bennett, as he adds some high-flying to Bennett’s “WWE-style” offense. (***)
After the match, Adam Cole ran in and attacked the Briscoes from behind. Mark and Jay fought back, however, and set up Cole for the Doomsday Device. Maria jumped up on the apron and shoved Mark off the top rope and through a table on the outside! Bennett, Cole, and Taven then jumped Jay. Security tried to break it up, but they were also attacked by the Kingdom. Bennett delivered a Twist of Fate to Jay. All four members of the Kingdom raised their arms in victory, as the show faded to black.
FINAL REAX: Another storyline-heavy offering from ROH this week. This episode felt very fresh, as it was only taped two weeks ago. However, the recent schedule has been packed tight, as Survival of the Fittest took place this past weekend and Glory By Honor is still to come. I applaud ROH for trying to make a splash ahead of the Final Battle PPV on December 7, but I’m curious to see just how much content from these pivotal events will make it to TV throughout the next four weeks.
The ROH "Creating Excellence" signature aired for the first time in a few weeks. The 10-second package culminated with a video of Jay Briscoe victoriously raising the ROH World Title belt.
A video package aired. It included backstage comments from The Kingdom. “We’re not just a family, we’re a kingdom,” said Bennett. He said that any good kingdom rebuilds, to which Adam Cole proclaimed, “thy kingdom come, thy will be done!” The package went on to show highlights of Matt Taven joining the Kingdom a few weeks ago on ROH TV. To close the promo, Maria lifted up a finger for each member of the Kingdom, and proclaimed that armageddon could now begin.
The ROH TV opening aired.
The Lakeland, Fla. crowd was pretty hot, as the camera panned the jam-packed arena. Tonight, it’s the Kingdom vs. Briscoes, plus the return of Michael Elgin!
Clips were shown of Cedric Alexander being attacked by Tommaso Ciampa prior to his entrance at the Honor Rumble last month on ROH TV.
1 -- CEDRIC ALEXANDER vs. TOMMASO CIAMPA
Ciampa approached the ring and stood on the announcer table above Nigel McGuinnes in an effort to intimidate him. Ciampa then walked around to the other side of the ring, but was hit with a dropkick before he could even enter! The bell rang, and Cedric immediately followed up with a flip dive to the outside! Alexander rolled him into the ring and delivered a huge top-rope frog splash, but Ciampa kicked out of the pin attempt. “Let’s go Ciampa” chants rang out from the crowd for some reason. Cedric tried to follow up, but CIampa rolled to the outside.
Alexander followed him out, however, and pummeled him around ringside. Ciampa finally got some offense at the 2:00 mark when he threw Cedric into the hockey boards on the outside. Ciampa shoved a ring crew member out of the way and then delivered a running knee strike to Alexander. They re-entered the ring and Cedric fought back with hit a springboard clothesline, followed up with a running dropkick in the corner. He went for another one, but Ciampa was barely able to duck out of the way, which sent Cedric crashing to the floor. The show went to it’s first commercial at the 3:45 mark.
[Commercial Break]
Back at 6:15, Ciampa was stomping Alexander on the mat. Ciampa made a psychotic face, which caused the crowd to boo him a bit. Ciampa followed up with a series of running knee strikes to Cedric while he was down in the corner. Ciampa went for a cover, but Cedric kicked out at two. Alexander tried to fight back with some fists, but Ciampa countered with some elbows to Cedric’s shoulder. Cedric began to mount a comeback, but was slowed down when Ciampa yanked his legs off the second rope. Tommaso hit some more running knee strikes, as some fans actually started chanting, “one more time!” He went for another, but Cedric countered, which sent both men down to the mat.
Cedric hit a couple of suplexes and then a Michinoku Driver, but could only get a two count. Both men exchanged blows in the center. Ciampa went for a roaring elbow, but Cedric ducked. Tommaso came right back and clobbered Cedric with his Knockout Knee. Somehow, Cedric kicked out! Cedric miraculously reversed with Kick to Kill: Part 2, but somehow Ciampa kicked out!
Cedric hit a spin kick, but Ciampa came right back with a stiff lariat and another nearfall. Ciampa began to argue with the referee. Cedric went for his running dropkick in the corner, but hit referee Todd Sinclair by accident! While the ref was down, Ciampa grabbed a piece of rope and choked Cedric with it. He continued to choke Cedric with the rope, but put his arm over it so it appeared like a generic chin lock. Sinclair came to, saw that Cedric had passed out, and called for the bell.
ROH Matchmaker Nigel McGuinness got up from the commentary desk to tell Sinclair about the illegal choke. Sinclair confronted Ciampa, who was still hiding the rope under his arm. Eventually, the rope fell out from under Ciampa’s arm and Sinclair reversed the decision!
WINNER: Cedric Alexander via disqualification in 13:15.
After the decision was announced, an incensed Tommaso Ciampa began slapping himself in the face and then left the ring. He ran right back in and nailed Cedric from behind with a chair. Ciampa set up the chair and then delivered a brain buster to Alexander on top of it! Ciampa then sat down in the chair and taunted McGuinness. Ciampa grabbed Kevin Kelly’s headset and yelled, “Nigel screwed Nigel!”
ANALYSIS: Solid match between these two. Cedric came out of the gate with the right amount of intensity, considering he was attacked by Ciampa recently. The crowd didn’t know what to make of Ciampa at first, but he did a great job of turning the crowd against him by the end. It was kept pretty simple, but told a good story nonetheless. (***)
Jay Lethal and Truth Martini cut a backstage promo. They joked about A.C.H. missing his flight at All-Star Extravaganza, and then hyped that Lethal would be defending the ROH TV Title against A.C.H. next week on ROH TV.
[Commercial Break]
The Briscoes then cut a backstage promo where they hyped their match against the Kingdom later in the show. Typical Briscoes promo.
2 — WORST-CASE SCENARIO (Elijah Evans & Ethan Case) vs. R.D. EVANS & MOOSE (w/ Ramon)
Prince Nana joined the commentary team for this one. He said that he loves Moose, despite his problems with R.D. Evans. Kevin Kelly pointed out Veda Scott’s absence from ringside. Nigel was particularly upset about it. The streak was at 166-0 at this point. The Code of Honor was adhered to and then the bell rang.
Moose and Elijah started the match. Elijah tried to take Moose down a few times to no avail. Moose eventually countered with a huge dropkick! Case tagged in, but was quickly slammed to the mat by Moose. R.D. tagged in and looked to be going for a suplex, but rolled up Case for two instead. Elijah got a shot in from the apron, which allowed Case to take control. Elijah tagged in and they double-teamed R.D. for a little while. Elijah hit a standing senton for a two count. Case tagged back in, but somehow R.D. was able to reverse into a double-inverted DDT, and tagged in Moose!
Moose came in and splashed both of his opponents. He whipped Case into Elijah and then splashed both men. He hit a big flying cross-body on his opponents, which drew a loud pop from the crowd. R.D. begged for the tag and got it. He came in and tried to hit a flying cross-body of his own, but Worst-Case Scenario reversed. Moose came in, but a miscommunication caused him to charge directly into his partner. Elijah and Case hit a nice double-team maneuver on R.D. and went for the cover, but Moose broke it up at the last second.
Case and Moose squared off in the center. Moose dropped Case over his knee and then hit a big spear. He tagged in R.D., and then they hit their finisher where R.D. stands on Moose’s shoulders and then splashes his opponent. R.D. pinned Case for the victory.
WINNERS: R.D. Evans & Moose via pinfall in 5:10.
R.D. celebrated after the match, as Kevin Kelly hyped his upcoming TV title shot against Jay Lethal. Interestingly enough, Kelly mentioned that this match would take place next week. He was correct in the fact that Glory By Honor takes place next weekend (November 15) in San Antonio, Texas. This was a bit confusing, though, as Lethal-A.C.H. was hyped as next week’s TV main event earlier in the show. Really odd that ROH would choose this match as a way to connect the TV product to the live event side of the business.
ANALYSIS: Another good showing from Moose. This wasn’t just a squash, as Worst-Case Scenario got in a bit of offense. Moose and Evans continue their “heel steals babyface partner’s glory” storyline, but it look like there might be some progression when Evans challenges Jay Lethal for the TV Title at Glory By Honor. (*1/2)
[Commercial Break]
Michael Elgin Returns
Back from break, Kevin Kelly stood in the ring and introduced Michael Elgin. The former ROH champ, dressed in a sport coat, jeans, and a t-shirt, slowly walked to the ring. Kelly began setting the stage, but Elgin grabbed the microphone and offered Kelly his water bottle for some reason. Kelly handed it back to him, which made Elgin look particularly awkward. Elgin said that he wanted to have a fresh start in ROH. He pointed out that he was dressed nicely because he wanted to project ROH’s supposed corporate image. He said he was starting to feel uncomfortable, and then proceeded to take off his sport coat and throw it on top of Kelly. Kevin stormed out of the ring.
Elgin said he was told to come out and apologize to Ring of Honor and its fans. He proceeded to apologize for not being who he really was in the past. He talked about how he was forced to be in Lakeland that night. He essentially told ROH to be careful what they wished for because, “when you play in the rain, you have to deal with the mud.” Aside from a few scattered “what?” chants, the crowd seemed rather disinterested.
[M.M. Reax: I can only imagine what the casual ROH viewer must be thinking at this point. Here is your former lead babyface, who just spent the last two years chasing the world title. And now, after unceremoniously dropping the belt and then falling off the face of the earth with barely a mention on TV, here he is as a full-blown heel. Sure, we’ve seen wrestlers return only to instantly turn heel in the past, but why was Elgin forced to “apologize” tonight, based on what has been presented on TV? ROH really needs to reel itself in when it comes to Twitter. This would be the equivalent of Daniel Bryan turning heel on the WWE app, and then eventually returning to TV in full heel mode without so much as a video package to put things in perspective.]
[Commercial Break]
3 — THE KINGDOM (Michael Bennett & Matt Taven w/ Maria Kanellis) vs. THE BRISCOES
The Kingdom came out to a mashed-up combination of Bennett’s and Cole’s theme songs. The Briscoes briskly walked to the ring and immediately began brawling with the Kingdom around ringside. Kelly talked about how the match couldn’t start until two men were in the ring, despite the fact that Cedric-Ciampa started on the outside earlier in the same show. Bennett and Mark eventually made it to the ring and the bell rang, while Jay continued to pummel Taven on the outside. Bennett and Mark were quickly back on the outside, and all four men brawled on the outside for the first minute of the match, until the Kingdom took control.
Back in the ring, Bennett nailed Mark with a dropkick. Jay and Taven continued to brawl on the outside. Mark threw Bennett to the outside, which allowed both Briscoes to double-team him for a moment. Jay and Taven ended up back in the ring, while Mark attempted to suplex Bennett through a table at ringside. Bennett fought out of it, while Jay knocked Taven out of the ring. Bennett came in and superkicked Jay and then delivered the Box Office Smash. Jay wisely rolled out of the ring. Mark went for his Cactus Jack elbow from the apron, but Bennett came out of nowhere and speared Mark, as the show went to a commercial at the 3:45 point in the match.
[Commercial Break]
Back at 5:45, things had settled down with Bennett in control of Mark on the mat. Bennett tagged in Taven, who then choked Mark on the top rope. Taven hit Mark with a spin kick and then tagged his partner. Bennett slammed Mark and then channelled Matt Hardy with a second-rope leg drop! Taven tagged back in, as Kevin Kelly announced that reDRagon would face the TimeSplitters at the Final Battle PPV in December.
The Kingdom continued to dominate, until Mark revered a Twist of Fate attempt. Mark rolled over and made the hot tag his brother! Jay came in and dominated both members of the Kingdom. He nailed Bennett with some headbutts and then hit a huge Falcon Arrow. Taven ran in, but was double-teamed by the Briscoes. Jay scored a nearfall on Taven and then tagged Mark. Mark hit a mule kick off the second rope and then followed up with some Red Neck Kung Fu. He went for Froggy Bow, but Michael Bennett shoved him off the top rope. Jay began to brawl with Bennett on the outside, but this opened him up to a dive from Taven.
Back in the ring, the Kingdom double-teamed Mark, but were unable to put him away. Bennett and Taven went for a Doomsday Device, but Mark was able to escape at the last minute! Jay ran in and hit the Jay Driller on Taven, and then Mark covered him for the victory!
WINNERS: The Briscoes via pinfall in 11:55.
ANALYSIS: This told a good story with the typical Briscoes brawl, followed up with the more traditional tag formula. Taven makes a great partner for Bennett, as he adds some high-flying to Bennett’s “WWE-style” offense. (***)
After the match, Adam Cole ran in and attacked the Briscoes from behind. Mark and Jay fought back, however, and set up Cole for the Doomsday Device. Maria jumped up on the apron and shoved Mark off the top rope and through a table on the outside! Bennett, Cole, and Taven then jumped Jay. Security tried to break it up, but they were also attacked by the Kingdom. Bennett delivered a Twist of Fate to Jay. All four members of the Kingdom raised their arms in victory, as the show faded to black.
FINAL REAX: Another storyline-heavy offering from ROH this week. This episode felt very fresh, as it was only taped two weeks ago. However, the recent schedule has been packed tight, as Survival of the Fittest took place this past weekend and Glory By Honor is still to come. I applaud ROH for trying to make a splash ahead of the Final Battle PPV on December 7, but I’m curious to see just how much content from these pivotal events will make it to TV throughout the next four weeks.